The Other Future
by Solas
Summary: What if Harper had never met Beka? What would his life have been like then? And what happens when he eventually does meet the Andromeda crew?
1. The Other Future

Disclaimer: Andromeda is owned by Tribune.

Spoilers: The first season, maybe the second season later.

Summary: AU, What if Harper had never met Beka? What would his life have been like then? And what happens when he eventually does meet the Andromeda crew? 

"If all of life is predestined then there is little you can do to change the outcome except try to always do what's right and hope for the best. And then, even if it's not predestined you've lived the best way you could and you've always had hope."

He was finally off Earth. Nearly twenty years on that damn planet and he had finally escaped. But not the way he'd planned. 

He used to dream of escaping, of stowing away or managing to get a job on a ship, escaping into the stars and never looking back. He had gotten away but he wasn't free. But being a slave on a Nietzchean ship was probably the best freedom he could ever hope for.

It wasn't so bad. At least he got fed, sometimes. The work was tiring yeah, but it was all good experience for the day he escaped. There were plenty of engineers needed out there and he was pretty good. 

The lights above him lit up and an alarm sounded. He heard the Nietzchean voice shout. "Alright C-block your shift starts now."

He got up quickly. The faster you moved the less likely the Dragans would have any reason to touch you. Not that they needed a reason. Two guards walked through the room. 

He saw two fellow engineers further down the room desperately trying to get a third person out of bed. His name was Jay and he'd been beaten pretty badly during the last shift. He'd been dragged back unconscious. 

The girl was shaking his shoulder and trying to pull him up as the guards were getting ever closer. He knew her too, she was pretty and the Dragans thought so too. You were cursed if you had good looks here, not blessed, but then you did get treated a little better when it came to food.

The girl and the guy gave up their futile attempts at waking Jed as the guards came towards them. The stood like everyone else, beside their cots, eyes down. Pretending to be nobody. As the guard passed him, Harper did the same. 

Too late he recognised the guard and had no time to prepare for the blow that knocked him off balance. He immediately stood up straight again ignoring the pain of the whole left side of his face. The guard walked on. 

His name was Granzen and he, for no reason at all, seemed to have it in for Harper. While he was around there was nothing Harper could do right. He'd attack him in passing or corner him while he was in the corridor. Just him, no-one else. 

Ignoring the dull aching of his face Harper turned his attention back to Jay. The guards were at his bunk now. One of them, not Granzen, pulled him out of the cot and, holding him a few feet off the ground, shook him hard. Getting no response from the small human whose head was sagging, he dropped him.

He made as if to go on, then stopped and pulled his gun, shooting Jay in the head. He walked on and the body lay motionless on the ground. No-one moved, no-one spoke. 

The doors opened. "Alright C-block, get to work." They filed out silently. No-one cried for the dead body on the floor because in truth they were only dead people walking.

Yeah, thought Harper, this was freedom.

***

Trance was sitting in the hydroponics bay swinging her tail idly from side to side and singing softy to the plants. She wondered where Beka was and if she should go talk to her about Captain Hunt. 

Things hadn't been good recently, especially things between Beka and Hunt. She resented the fact that she was stuck here on his vessel because they hadn't been able to find the Maru and she also resented the fact that he had let her only engineer Dale get captured or killed just because they weren't able to find her ship.

Trance had been a bit surprised when she'd first joined the Maru. She hadn't exactly being expecting Dale. He was in his mid-twenties, tall and strongly built. In truth she'd been expecting someone else. A small man, with blond hair who looked like a feather would probably knock him over.

But he wasn't here. That was how it went though, the future. It was constantly changing and things didn't always happen exactly as you thought they would. But if he was destined to be here, she had no doubt he'd get here eventually. 

He was important. She also had a very strange feeling that if he had been here instead of Dale then he'd be alive and with them right now, and so would the Maru. Things would be better then. Maybe Captain Hunt wouldn't be so distant and maybe Beka wouldn't be so resentful, maybe Tyr would be less aloof and scary.

And maybe, just maybe, the future would look better. 

***

Is it worth continuing? Review and tell me what you think! 


	2. Falling

Disclaimer, summary and spoilers: see first chapter

As for the reviews, thank you! They were all so nice! And Dale -definitely a loser. For the safety of pigeons everywhere, here is chapter two: 

"That's the thing about life - you either catch your train or you miss it. Of course occasionally, very occasionally, along comes a person who steps straight out in front of it"

He was exhausted. For twenty hours he'd been stuck in a small, cramped maintenance conduit trying to repair whatever was broken, which seemed to be everything. He had no idea what time it was, he had very little light and very little air. 

He wouldn't collapse. He just wouldn't. But he'd been telling himself this for over four hours now. His shift had to end soon, didn't it? 

But he wasn't even sure how long he'd been here. It just felt like twenty hours. But sometimes their shifts lasted twenty-five hours or even longer. He'd hold out, he knew the penalty for collapsing on the job and he wouldn't risk that. 

But it turned out luck wasn't on Harper's side that day. He managed to work for another seven hours in those cramped conditions, praying for his shift to end, the air to run out, anything to save him from this. Finally he lost the battle for consciousness while chanting over and over again. "I won't collapse, I won't collapse, I won't collapse......" 

***

He woke feeling himself being dragged along the ground. He was pulled out of the conduit and roughly thrown on the floor. He opened his eyes and struggled to stand up. Granzen was standing in front of him. Harper groaned inwardly and a sick feeling creeped into his stomach. 

Even though he was staring at the floor he could imagine the grin of pleasure on Granzen's face. He didn't even try to dodge it as the first blow hit him, after that it was just a matter of praying for unconsciousness. It was kind of ironic wasn't it? One minute he was praying to stay awake and the next he was praying not to be.

It seemed to take a long time coming and even though Harper had been through many similar ordeals, you never really got used to the pain. The last thing he remembered was Granzen satisfied face standing over him. Gloating with pride at the young human lying on the floor. 

***

It just seemed to be a day of waking up and Harper was sure he didn't want to wake up again. Though it had probably been two or three days. He opened his eyes. It was dark. He wasn't in their sleeping quarters, no, people who collapsed on the job didn't get to sleep there. 

This was the Box. So named because there wasn't enough room to stand, it was pitch black and closed in on four sides. He'd been here before, once for talking back to a guard and once for collapsing in another conduit. He'd be here for a day or two maybe. Hopefully no longer, but he knew they wouldn't risk leaving him here for more than a day without food or water. It was small and dark, smaller than the maintenance conduits. He was just lucky that he wasn't afraid of small spaces, he knew some people who were and if they ended up in here they usually came out insane. 

He hated this place but he knew how to stay sane. It was something Brendan had though him long ago and it had come in useful before. There was no-one around to hear him.

He began quietly and quickly picked up the tune. 

"One million green bottles hanging on the wall, one million green bottles hanging on the wall....."

*** 

Captain Hunt was staring out the window. The view outside was just how he felt inside. Empty, except for a few small pinpoints of light that were far out of reach. What was he doing here? How had he ended up here? 

Trust. That's how he ended up here, through trusting. Trusting his second-in-command. Well he wouldn't make that mistake again. These people were only on his ship because they had no-where else to go. He find somewhere to leave them, eventually. Captain Valentine and her crew he meant, the Kodiak, Tyr, he really didn't know why he was still here. He was an assassin and in this dark and broken universe there was plenty of work for him. 

Unless of course he wanted something else. A highguard ship of the line for example. Maybe he was just waiting for the right time to strike. That was why Hunt slept with a his force lance under his pillow. It reassured him a little. Paranoia wasn't good for the soul, or so they said, but as far as he could see, neither was trust.

***

Rev. Bem stood next to Beka. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice him. He coughed politely and she looked up.

"Hey Rev. I didn't notice you there. How are you feeling?"

She smiled at him but the smile didn't reach her tired eyes.

"I am fully recovered, thank you. And how are you doing? You are not still guilty about what happened to Dale are you?"

She sighed. Rev was back to this again. He seemed to think she was blaming herself for Dale's disappearance and she felt she had a right to. And for letting Rev get hurt by those psycho-kids on that station. She didn't really feel impressed by Captain Hunt after they managed to destroy a few solar systems and nearly kill Rev. He was supposed to be a legendary soldier guy but he just seemed like a broken man to her. 

She knew that he resented their presence much as she resented being there. He'd kick them off when he got the chance and then she'd never find her ship. Trance had been acting strangely though, she seemed eager to stay. Beka supposed it had something to do with the plants. But Trance could stay here if she wanted, Beka didn't know her very well and really didn't care. Life was hard enough as it is without tag-alongs.

***

Trance was getting more and more anxious. Things were getting so much worse and there was no sign of him, the blond human. Beka and Dylan had just about reached breaking point and she knew Tyr had something on his mind too. Like if he didn't shoot something soon, they'd be the next target. 

Things were going to be very, very bad. It was like they were missing the glue that should be sticking them together and she didn't know how to find it. "Please hurry", she whispered knowing that the person, whoever he was, couldn't hear her.

And far away, in an abandoned corner of a Nietzchean ship, a quiet voice faltered and then continued. "....and if one green bottle should accidentally fall...." 

***

Well? Do you want more? Review and let me know! 


	3. Surprises

Disclaimer and stuff - see first chapter

All the nice reviews! I'm glad people are liking this story. So here's the next chapter:

"When the most unexpected things happen to unexpected people we call it luck. We forget that sometimes things are just meant to be- like you were meant to be born, the sun was meant to rise and set, and there was always meant to be hope."

It had been a week since they'd let him out. He was still recovering from it and just trying to keep a low profile. He didn't realise how futile his efforts were, especially with Granzen always at his back. 

He hadn't had enough time to recover from the injuries he had let alone deal with new ones. But he was soon to realise that getting punched in the face was probably the least he had to worry about. 

***

He'd been pulled into some special duty shift. It happened sometimes. It was because of his port. He was one of the few people with a cerebral port here, the Nietzcheans had given them to a few of them when they'd first been caught. He had almost not survived that and the memory of the burning pain in his neck the first time he interfaced was not something he'd ever forget. 

They were marched to a docking bay. And in it stood what could only be described as a rust bucket of a ship. It looked like the whole thing was made of spare parts glued together. He heard some of the guards joking with one another.

"It's called the Eureka Maru, a typical kludge name, stupid and meaningless. Just another sign of human weakness. A piece of metal crap with a name."

For some unexplained reason Harper immediately felt protective of the old ship. It looked like it had seen some tough times but that fact that it seemed to be in one piece was a credit to it's makers and it showed human strength and resilience more than anything. But those stupid ubers could never understand that, never.

He was set to work trying to interface with the ships systems. Apparently the Dragans had acquired it from a Nightsider along with a human slave but Harper hadn't seen him yet. There was supposed to be some valuable information stored in here about some old ship wreak or something.

Everything of value that he found he immediately transferred to their ships database. There were star charts and maps and stuff that looked very promising and a whole load of other junk. He worked his way through so many barriers and hidden files. He knew all the tricks of this trade. 

After about five hours he'd trailed through the whole thing and he was pretty tired. He was just a little bit curious, though, as to what exactly was so important about some old ship, older than this one by the looks of it. But it wasn't his place to be curious, maybe it was in his nature but asking questions here got you more pain than answers.

He was sent back to the barracks, most of the other shifts weren't back yet but interfacing was known to be a very tough job and they didn't want to end up with a braindead slave. He wasn't the only one there though. Another human was sitting on a bunk as Harper walked in. He guessed that this was the slave from the ship he'd been working on. 

"So how did you end up here?" Harper decided that since he had time to kill he might as well do some talking. 

The man looked up at him slowly. Harper could see he wasn't in very good shape. 

"Nightsider bastard gave me to them. I'm Dale."

Harper just nodded, wisely not giving his name. "How did the nightsider get you?"

Dale had now focused his attention on a far wall while he answered. "I was working as an engineer on that ship they have docked. We were doing a salvage job for him, pulling a ship out of a black hole. But things didn't go to plan and I got separated from my crew. The nightsider needed to make some quick cash so he sold the lot, including me."

Harper just nodded again. He heard these kinds of stories before and much worse ones than that. Hell, his own story was worse than that, much worse. He went and lay down, hoping to get some sleep before he was called again. When Dale realised that he had lost interest he lay down on his bunk too. And for a while it was quiet.

***

"Get up! Now!" Harper jumped to his feet as the voice roared beside him. His blurred eyesight made out Dale's figure jumping up too. Granzen was standing beside him, grinning. Harper felt that sick feeling quickly return to his stomach. 

"We've got a job for the two of you." And with that he walked out and they followed.

They were lead down corridor after corridor. At least Harper had an idea where they were going. Well, he knew it wasn't to engineering or the docking bays or cargo bays one to twelve, so other than that where could they really be going? Dale looked pale. A kind of milky pale like he was in shock. Harper wasn't feeling so great himself.

All of a sudden they found themselves standing in a room in front of what had to be a very important Nietzchean man. Why else would his bones spurs need that much polish? Harper groaned inwardly. He had a tendency to come up with witty sarcastic comments but he managed to keep them to himself. They would cause him a lot of trouble here.

"This is the one from the ship, and this is the one I was telling you about."

From his view of the carpet and the mans boots Harper could guess that he was sizing them up. Finally he spoke.

"Will he be able to do it?"

"Yes sir, he's the best one we have." 

Harper presumed they were talking about him. Do what? What did they want him to do? Well he was sure he'd find out soon enough but he was kind of hoping it would be later.

"They'll do, you leave as soon as its ready to go." And with that they were dismissed, back down the corridor. This time Harper realised they were heading to the docking bay. Granzen walked up to the Nietzchean on duty. 

"Are we ready to go?"

The guard nodded. "Yes sir, all systems are ready and the Nietzchean team are standing by."

Granzen grabbed Harper's arm and shoved him towards the airlock. "We're going on a little trip together, you'd better behave yourself. You too." He nodded toward Dale who quickly followed Harper. 

Harper could barely believe it. What the hell was going on? Was this a good chance for him to try and escape? There was a doubt in his mind, a big doubt as to whether he'd come back alive after a trip with Granzen. And there was a hope in his mind, a faint hope, that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't be coming back at all.

***

There was so much tension on command deck you could probably have shot it with a force lance. At least Tyr was itching to shoot something and pretty soon that was going to be anything. 

Nothing much had happened. Captain Hunt was rarely seen except on command, he locked the door whenever he went to play basketball and Trance's attempts at conversation were met with a stone wall.

Beka wasn't much better. She was still mourning over Gerentex taking her ship and her engineer with him. Her ship had been her home but the Andromeda could be her home, if she'd let it. 

The ship herself, the AI. She seemed kind of cold and impersonal. Very protective of her captain though. Maybe that's how these ships were meant to be. Even Rev seemed depressed. They were like a ship of ghosts because no-one here really seemed alive. But they would be soon. 

"I'm picking something up on scanners" The holographic AI appeared. It was one of those freak times where everyone ended up on command at the same time. Everyone seemed to almost jump to attention. 

"Put it on the viewscreen." Even Captain Hunt seemed interested. 

It was a ship. Their ship. 

"The Maru! We've found her!" Beka looked delighted. 

"There are no lifesigns, she seems to be dead in space. It looks like the nightsider dumped her."

Beka was delighted. Her ship, her home, she had it back. But no lifesigns. She paused for a moment reflecting on what that meant. No life signs, no Dale. Poor kid. 

Captain Hunt began giving orders and they brought the ship aboard. Beka couldn't really care less about his ordering them about. She was just so happy to have her ship back. 

Of course they weren't expecting what happened next, which in truth they should have been. A Commonwealth officer, a skilled Nietzchean, a salvage Captain who knows trouble when she sees it. But for some reason they didn't, so what came next, came.

Two Nietzchean ships came almost out of no-where and immediately attacked. So lost in the surprise battle everyone forgot about the Eureka Maru sitting in the docking bay. 

But that was how it was meant to be. Except the one thing Trance knew well was that there were many paths ahead and sometimes if things don't go exactly right they can go very, very wrong.

***

So what do you think? Constructive critism is always welcome, but spelling corrections are sometimes not. 


	4. Accepting Fate

Disclaimer and stuff is still in the first chapter unless someone's stolen it. 

Thank you so much for all the brilliant reviews! I'm sorry for the delay with this chapter but I've had a headache for the past two days. Anyways, here is chapter 4: 

"In truth we're all just hurtling to our deaths, like insects hitting a windscreen. All there is left is a smudge and eventually even that disappears. So what's the point of living if you're just forgotten? But sometimes, if you look carefully, you can still make out the smudge on the screen, because though you are gone, the mark of what you have done remains.......or failing that there's always the little baby bugs you left behind."

The trip on the Eureka Maru seemed to last forever. Way too long in Harper's eyes. Especially with Granzen constantly at his back. He had new bruises on his face, arms, stomach and probably a few bruised ribs as well. Harper had never been able to figure out exactly why Granzen hated him so much. 

Until now, that is. Granzen had just knocked him to the floor when one if other Nietzcheans walked in. Harper stayed on the ground, not really wanting to move and hoping against hope that Granzen was needed somewhere else. Not that there was much of an elsewhere to be on this ship. 

He missed the first part of their exchange, probably because he was too busy trying to dampen out the pain in his stomach where he'd just been kicked. He guessed by Granzens reply that the question had been to do with him.

"I just can't stand kludges like these. Not only are their race weak and pathetic but he is moreso. He is weak and small and he gets scared easily. You'd think by beating him round a bit that he'd harden up but no, he'll be a scared pathetic kludge forever. Especially this one..." At that he kicked Harper in the side and he curled in on himself in pain.

"...because he seems to be smart. And these are the dangerous kludges. Smart and weak, so they're smart enough to survive but weak enough that they'll pass on their weak genes and pollute generations of the species. Nietzcheans know to kill the weaklings but humans aren't that smart yet." 

He grinned and laughed evilly. Harper briefly imagined him with horns and a tail, like the devil out of the stories he heard in the camps. But he had always pictured the devil as having bonespurs like Nietzcheans and claws like a magog. All he needed was to be in a room with both a Nietzchean and a Magog and he was in his own idea of hell.

Three days had passed since they'd left and he finally had some idea of what was happening. He and Dale hadn't had that much to do since they left, some minor repairs and adjustments. But they'd overheard a lot from the Nietzcheans. 

Apparently, this big ship that the salvage crew had pulled out of the black hole was a very powerful ship. A highguard ship. He had been told stories about them when he was little. How everyone used to live in peace and Earth was a paradise. But they were like fairytales to him. 

Apparently the plan was to lure the big ship into taking this ship onboard, Harper wasn't sure how. They'd been looking for the Maru for a while. And then they'd be onboard and a couple of Nietzchean ships would cause a distraction.

They needed Dale because he'd been working on the ship before and they needed Harper to interface with the ship and gain control. Then the Nietzcheans would take over the ship kill the crew and bring it to the nearest Drago-Katsov base. Simple. He hoped.

They'd learnt all that from overheard conversations. Harper had been thinking and trying to come up with a way to escape but there didn't seem to be one. If he let them take over the ship, he was trapped, if he didn't he was dead. Damned either way. 

Dale wasn't much use either, he seemed to have lost hope. Harper really wasn't surprised that the Nightsider had been able to capture him. He gave up too easily. 

Everything had happened suddenly. The Nietzchean in the engine room had activated some device and all the systems had turned down to a minimum. He and Dale were warned not to even breath loudly. 

He guessed later that the device sent out signals that mimicked complete power-failure. So the were dead in space and it looked like there was no-one on board. It was a few hours before they felt themselves being pulled into the ship. Then things started happening fast once again, it was almost like time sped up. 

The five Nietzcheans onboard armed themselves and one grabbed Dale and Granzen grabbed Harper. They literally sneaked on board. Harper supposed they'd been sent some signal from the attacking ships to know when it was time. The ship rocked now and then with explosions. 

Harper was used to them though. The Nietzchean ship he'd been on had fought in a lot of battles and he'd done a lot of repair work.

Dale was directing them, but Harper wasn't sure exactly where they were going until they got there. 

"You can interface here." Dale's face was pale and frightened. Obviously he hadn't been in too many battles. To Harper it was like background noise, like the screams of people dying during a Magog attack or a Nietzchean raid. You ignore them and you run, you just run. Except there was no-where to run now. 

He quickly set up his tools and interfaced with the computer. He was very surprised at what he found. It was so much bigger and more powerful than he'd been expecting. He kept himself hidden as best he could from the computer but it would be hard not to detect his presence when he was trying to break down the computers command controls. 

He began to break his way through the security. After twenty minutes or so he thought he was nearly there but he came up against a wall. It was a damn secure computer if it had protection like this. It didn't take him long to figure out that he couldn't get complete control from this access point. He needed to be on the bridge or in the slipstream core.

He terminated the interface and informed Granzen, who looked briefly as if he would murder him. But of course that wouldn't help them, so he turned his attention to Dale. That was when the ship detected their presence and all hell broke loose.

***

They were in the thick of battle and Captain Hunt knew that there was something wrong. It was a completely unprovoked attack. Out of the blue. 

And they also weren't putting up that great a fight. It was like gorilla warfare. They kept jumping in, sending a volley and retreating. It was too predictable. It was like throwing rocks systematically at a piece of steel, barely making a dent. 

"What's wrong with this battle, people?" He spoke to his crew, if you could call them that, for the first time. Voicing his opinion and asking theirs. 

"It's almost like...." Captain Valentine spoke and then hesitated. Hunt gestured for her to continue. 

"..like they're trying to occupy our attention, distract us. But from what?"

That's what Captain Hunt wanted to know, he was about to say something else when both Anasasi and Trance spoke at the same time. 

"That ship" "The Maru!" Of course. Dylan was about to order Rommie to activate the internal security systems when her hologram appeared. 

"Intruders detected, deck 15, internal defence systems have been activated." 

Hunt headed towards the door. "Anasasi, Valentine, you're with me." The Nietschean ships outside had stopped attacking, they'd probably been contacted by the intruders.

They made their way to the nearest weapons locker and got ready for a fight. 

***

The internal defence systems had got one of the Nietzcheans but now he and Dale were disabling them as they went along. Only problem was it left a lovely trail. Like those breadcrumbs in that fairytale he used to be told about a Magog who dressed up as a little girls grandmother after she'd eaten her and had tried to eat the little girl too. When he was little it used to give him nightmares. 

That was when they were attacked from both sides. Harper didn't see who it was but all of a sudden another Nietzchean was down and Granzen had given him a weapon. He didn't know how to use it and vaguely shot in the direction of one of the attackers. The other two Nietzcheans were hit, one after another. 

"Which way?!!" Granzen was yelling at Dale and shaking him hard. Dale just stuttered and shook his head. Which was when Granzen turned his weapon around and shot him. Harper spun round just in time to see Dale's body hit the ground, blood trailing down his forehead from where he'd been shot. Dead, definitely dead. 

It was like time was speeding up and then slowing down. The next second Granzen pitched forward and hit the ground, blood coming from a wound on his back. And Harper was standing there alone. He was the only one left standing, with a weapon in his hands.

He was looking at the mass of bodies on the ground around him. And for the first time in his life he contemplated killing himself. What other option was there anyway? It was then he noticed the dark-skinned Nietzchean standing in front of him with his weapon pointed at him. He didn't need to worry now, he was dead anyway. 

He let the weapon in his hands fall to the ground and stared blankly at the Nietzchean, almost willing him to shoot. He didn't notice the people come up behind him, he didn't hear their words. He just calmly waited for death. He wanted it and the Nietzchean man wanted to give it to him. He raised his weapon and Harper held his breath, waiting to smash into his own personalised windscreen.

*** 

A/N: Okay, it's the weekend and I've very little work to do so the next chapter will be up soon. If you try and hurry storylines they get grumpy so I let it take it's time! I hope you don't mind waiting a bit longer for the whole meeting thing! 


	5. Surviving

Disclaimer and stuff is in ch.1 unless it decided to run away and find a better story.

Thank you again for all the reviews, my headaches gone and I'm sure reading them helped! Here is the fifth chapter, I hope you enjoy it! 

"Imagine if we are all numbers being added and taken away from a giant equation. Everything that ever happened to you is a factor in the equation and there are so many multiples and variables, that it is really difficult to predict who, and what, you are going to be. And every so often, like in everything, someone, somewhere makes an error in the calculations and it gets messed up. Some people spend all their lives trying to find out where they went wrong and trying to fix it and they find they can't because it's life and life is not like an equation, you can't change what you've done." 

***

He and Beka had come up from one side and Anasazi from the other. They took them by surprise and eventually there was only one man standing. Hunt saw him put down his gun and surrender to Anasazi, he also noticed Anasazi preparing to fire. He quickly came up behind the man and ordered Tyr to stand down.

For a minute it looked like he wasn't going to listen but then he lowered his weapon. That was when the man decided to run, straight into Valentine and himself who both had their weapons out. He quickly backtracked and Tyr grabbed him.

"Take him to V-Deck." The Neitzchean didn't even hesitate to follow orders this time. Things were looking up. 

"Andromeda is that all of them?" 

"Affirmative, there are no more intruders onboard and the battle ship have left the area."

He turned to see Valentine kneeling over one of the bodies. He recognised him as one of her crew, the one who'd been captured by the Nightsider.

"It was a Nietzchean weapon that shot him. I don't think he would have sold us out, maybe he wouldn't tell them what they wanted to know and they killed him."

Valentine stood up and Hunt came to stand next to her. He knew what it was like to lose crewmembers. 

"Well we won't know for certain who killed him, they had deactivated all the sensors as well as the internal defences. It wasn't your fault, we did everything we could to rescue him safely. We knew he was with them, at least now we know he was a prisoner and not a collaborator."

Captain Valentine ran her hand through her hair. "What about the other one?"

He supposed she meant the other human who'd been working with them. 

"Well, he was probably a collaborator. He had a weapon and he was interfacing to try to gain control of the ship. I don't think there is really anywhere we can hand him over too. Maybe the Perseids on Sinti. There is also a high chance that he was the one who killed Dale. He was the only one left standing." 

Beka sighed again. Dale was just an unfortunate person, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some people were just meant to be like that. 

"I better go and tell the others about Dale."

Valentine turned and walked down the corridor, leaving Dylan to wonder what he was going to do now.

***

This wasn't too bad. He'd been in worse cells. It wasn't small enough to make you claustrophobic but small enough to let you know you were trapped. He still wasn't really sure what the hell had happened. All he knew for sure was that he was in a lot of trouble and he wasn't dead, yet. 

Dale, poor guy. He wasn't a bad guy really he just wasn't a survivor. Some people were just like that, unlucky. And him? Well, he was one of those people who went from frying pans to fires and usually found himself burning in hell. He knew he was in trouble now. 

He wasn't scared, not really. He'd been in worse situations, he'd been in prisons before. But every situation was different. Fear becomes a distant memory, just like pain does, so that each new experience is worse than the first. 

He kept telling himself he wasn't scared, over and over. But he couldn't make himself believe it. That was the problem with the unknown. It was so easy to be scared when you don't know what's going to happen. Like people are scared of the dark because they can't see what's in it. 

He'd be okay. Sure he was stuck in a cell on a really powerful ship who was manned by at least one Nietzchean and some Humans. He didn't know where they were going, what they were going to do to him and how exactly he could get out of this situation. 

Why was freedom always so far away? He wasn't scared, yeah like a mouse isn't scared of the cat who's got him cornered. He was cornered once again and had nowhere to run.

***

He barely heard the door chime and was almost surprised when Trance walked in. 

"Ms. Gemini, what can I do for you."

"You should call me Trance, everyone else does." She smiled cheerfully. She always seemed cheerful and full of optimism. 

"I'm sorry about Dale."

She nodded solemnly, the smile suddenly gone from her face. "Me, too, he was a nice person and nice people don't deserve to die like that."

"So is there anything I can do for you?"

She smiled again, not an overly cheerful smile but a pleased smile. Childlike and innocent. 

"Actually, there is something I wanted to talk to you about. Beka said you were trying to find somewhere to hand over the prisoner you took. Well I have an idea about that."

Dylan gave her his full attention now. Captain Valentine had called Trance her good luck charm and when he'd asked her to explain, she'd said that Trance was very intuitive. And he believed her.

"Go ahead, I'd be happy to hear any suggestions."

She smiled again. "Well, I was thinking that since he appears to be an engineer and since we need an engineer, why not keep him here? Where he could work instead of ending up in a prison somewhere where he will probably come out a worse person than when he went in. 

We don't really know what type of a person he is or if he really did kill Dale. You need an engineer and he'll be more use to you here than in some prison somewhere. You can impose whatever restrictions you need too. I think it would be a really good idea. What do you think?"

Hunt was a bit surprised by her suggestion and he just thought about it for a few minutes. It did make sense. They needed an engineer and there really wasn't anywhere to hand the guy over to. 

"I think you are right, I think it would be a really good idea."

She beamed at him, almost delighted. Well if she was happy with that, he'd be happy with it too.

"I've already mentioned it to Beka, Rev and Tyr. They seem okay with it. Mostly because we really need an engineer."

Dylan nodded. He speak with them first and then inform the prisoner what was happening. Things were working out better than expected. As long as they weren't all murdered in their beds, that is.

*** 

He heard footsteps approaching, opened his eyes and got to his feet. To his surprise it wasn't the Nietzchean who stepped into the cell, it was a human male. He was tall and kinda reminded Harper of one of those ancient gods. 

Harper stood very still, next to the wall farthest from the door. The man walked in and stopped next to the door. He was wearing a uniform and he had a weapon at his side. He looked angry. 

"I'm Captain Dylan Hunt of the Commonwealth starship Andromeda. You have been charged with attempting to take over a Commonwealth ship and trying to break through security interfaces. Under Commonwealth law you could be subject to imprisonment for seven years to fifteen years."

The man paused before continuing to let the reality of the situation sink in. Hell, thought Harper. He was pretty much damned. He doubted he'd last one year in a prison much less seven. 

"But we have no Commonwealth prisons and there are no authorities that abide by rules similar enough to the commonwealth that I can hand you over to. Instead your sentence is as follows. You will spend eighteen months working as an engineer aboard this vessel. In eighteen months your situation will be reviewed. You will follow me now to your quarters, you will remain there whenever you are not working or eating."

And he turned and walked out. Harper followed him. He was trying to think his way around this. As far as he could see, nothing had really changed. He'd gone from being a slave on one ship to being a slave on another. He hurried to catch up with Captain Hunt.

Eventually a couple of decks down they reached a door, and Captain Hunt stood in front of it. He pressed a button and it opened. Harper immediately on habit switched his gaze to the floor. 

Captain Hunt spoke again in that very authoritative voice. "These are your quarters your first shift starts tomorrow. You might want to get some rest. Captain Valentine will be along in a few hours to take you to get some food. Any questions?"

Harper didn't lift his gaze from the floor and didn't say a word. He knew how he was expected to behave and he wasn't going to get caught out.

Though Harper couldn't see it, the man frowned. "Well? Do you have any questions or not."

Harper was surprised, he actually wanted an answer. You'd end up on the floor if you dared to speak to a Nietzchean. He decided to choose the safest answer. And his gaze never left the point on the floor. 

"No, sir." Hunt was a bit perplexed by this behaviour. He didn't know what was wrong with the young man. He turned to leave when a thought occurred to him. 

"What's your name?" Harper decided that he probably did want an answer this time. 

"Harper, sir." 

He nodded once and left, not that Harper saw this from his vantage point of the floor. Once his footsteps had died away Harper left out a sigh of relief and entered his quarters. He was surprised by what he found. It wasn't half bad. It was better than anywhere he'd been before. 

He realised how tired he was and looked around for where he was supposed to sleep. He was surprised to find the bed, it looked so much more comfortable than those bunks on the Nietzchean ship. But he hesitated to sleep on it. He'd never slept on a proper bed in his whole life and he sure as hell didn't think he was supposed to sleep there now. 

The floor looked like the safer option. He grabbed a blanket from the bed and found himself a nice corner. Away from the door, well protected. He just kind of wished he had a weapon. He fell asleep quickly but every little noise woke him again. He almost wished he was back in the little hut in the refugee camp. He knew all the noises there. Finally he drifted to sleep haunted by images of Dale and Granzen and people screaming.

He didn't feel safe here but little did he know that this was the safest place he would ever be. Destiny had finally fixed the error and shot him back in line. Everything was going just like it was supposed to. 

Only no-one bothered to factor in just what kind of damage the delay might have done to this young man. Mentally and physically he was a different person with a different personality. It isn't just as easy as adding a number in later, sometimes when you make a mistake the number you are trying to add in isn't the number you need anymore. And your calculations are still wrong. 

*** 

A/N: Okay, that was long. So, what did you think? I wasn't too sure about this chapter, it seemed to go on for a while. Next chapter should involve the rest of the crew and settling in and stuff ! 


	6. Meeting

Disclaimer and stuff: Unless something drastic has happened, Tribune still owns Andromeda.

Thank you all so much for the reviews, every time I think I've done something wrong you convince me otherwise and I'm guessing you liked the last chapter!(Agus Sorcha, go raibh maith agat agus tá athas orm le a....thuairisci?!) Anyway, here is chapter six: 

"Everyone see things differently. That's why they are called points of view, because from where you're standing things look different. While you grow up your point of view is always changing but it happens so slowly that you won't realise when exactly the tree in your garden stops looking as tall as Jack's beanstalk and becomes just another tree. In the same way you barely realise when you start viewing someone as a friend instead of just someone you recognise. It's when you find yourself reaching the top of that tree and looking down, or laughing and joking with that friend, that you realise things have changed and you don't even remember it happening."

***

She was singing to her plants. It helped both her and them, she liked to sing and they liked to listen. Plants were so easy to please. Enough water, food, the right soil and temperature, space and they grew and flowered like they were supposed to. But people were different. They have the right nutrients, environment, space and company and still they didn't thrive like plants. 

Why? Because unlike most plants, they have emotions, memories and personalities and these were things that were very difficult to balance. Everything else could be perfectly suited to them but sometimes the problem was inside themselves. 

He had come. She'd been so relieved when he'd arrived because she knew somehow things would be better. But she wasn't so sure now. Something had changed and she realised that it was him. She now had a problem that she knew no-one could fix. Things could still turn out okay but the good futures were becoming less and less. The paths were narrowing and that was never a good sign. 

He was who they needed though, and he was here. So all she needed to do was to help him. She would help him to be part of this crew. It was the only thing she knew she could do but it wouldn't be easy. She wasn't exactly sure what kind of a past he'd come from but only that it wasn't a good one. 

Of course even though she had very good insight, she didn't realise how much of an understatement that was.

*** 

Beka had rang the door chime and when no-one opened the door, she walked in. No sign of him. She headed towards the bedroom and shouted through the door. 

"Captain Hunt sent me to bring you to the mess. If you want something to eat, get a move on!"

Inside the room, Harper, who'd been woken by the door chime, was standing up sleepy and confused. He had gotten used to sleeping on the hard deckplates of the Maru so he was surprised to wake up on the carpeted floor. When he heard the woman shout in to him he got even more confused. 

They were going to feed him before he did any work? They were lucky to get fed at all on the Nietzchean ship or in the camps. Well, he would never give up a chance for food, even though he was a bit suspicious of the motives of these people. He walked quickly out the door coming face to face with a blond woman. He quickly looked down, noticing as he did that she had a gun very nearly in her hand. She frowned at him, though he couldn't see it and walked out the door expecting him to follow, which he did. 

He stayed a few feet behind her, following her to the mess, until she stopped and yelled for him to catch up with her. He jogged up to her, expecting the worst for having lagged behind. But she just walked on telling him to keep up with her.

She wasn't happy. She had her ship back and now she wanted to leave. But both Trance and Rev were against leaving straight away. She guessed they liked it here. She knew she shouldn't have been taking it out on Hunt's new 'engineer' but she felt she had a right to be angry at him anyway, he was working with the ones who had murdered Dale. 

They reached the door to the mess and she gestured for him to go ahead in. He hesitated, like he wasn't really sure that he wanted to go in there. His gaze flicked quickly to her and then back to the floor. She really didn't think that the deck plates were that interesting. She was about to say so when she remembered that Captain Hunt was waiting for them and so were the rest of the crew.

"You can't wait out here all day, the food isn't going to grow legs and walk out to you so if you want to eat you'll have to go in." At her words he walked in and she followed. He walked in a few metres before he froze. He'd taken a quick, barely noticeable look round the room and what he'd seen had shocked him. 

There were a number of people in the room. The first was Captain Hunt, still in uniform and as tall as a Greek god, and the Nietzchean that had brought him to his cell, the one who'd he'd thought was going to kill him. But there were two other people he hadn't met before, the first was female and purple and the second... Harper had to check twice before he was sure that he was in a room with a Magog. Yep, fur, claws, teeth. 

He tried to stay calm but he was now in his own personal version of hell, in a room with a Magog and a Nietzchean. And with Captain Valentine standing behind him, there was no escape. 

It took only seconds for his mind to register this before he thought of something. 'They're going to feed me to the Magog! Oh, hell I have to get out of here.' He was already panicking before the door had shut. He heard it swish close behind him and he spun round.

Valentine was standing in front of him. She looked confused and then gestured him to a chair and she walked over and sat down. He didn't move. He was too busy keeping track of the Magog sitting at one of the tables. He was talking to the purple thing, but both of them kept looking at him.

"Hey." Captain Valentine's voice brought his attention back to this side of the room. 

"Well, are you going to eat or not?" Harper felt sick without even thinking about food. Just the sight of a Magog was enough to make him lose his appetite, his sanity, his reason. 

Captain Hunt stood up. He had noticed the hesitation in the young man and assumed he was just a bit uncertain about the situation. He called the rest of the crew over to the table he was sitting at and gestured Harper over. To Harper's disgust and very near despair, the purple thing and the Magog got up and began to walk towards where he was standing. 

It was then he remembered the door. There was no-one near the door. He could run for it but where could he run? He was on a ship! Of course you had to remember that his mind was not working with reason but with fear, or he might have been more calm about the whole situation. Captain Hunt was talking again. 

"I just wanted to call you all together to introduce you to our engineer, Mr. Harper." As the Magog and the purple thing came closer he decided to take action. Seizing his chance he grabbed a knife from a tray by the wall. He wasn't what he was going to do with the knife but he wasn't going to let that Magog near him. 

The rest of the crew were too focused on what Captain Hunt was saying that they didn't notice he now had knife in his hand. The purple thing was walking toward him. She smiled, held out her hand and introduced herself. 

"Hi, I'm Trance." She looked down noticing the knife in his hand and looked back up. She reached for his arm and Harper yanked it back out of reach, taking a step back towards the wall. Too late he realised that getting the knife had cut him off from the door. 

He was considering running for it when the purple girl spoke again. 

"You don't need to be scared we're really nice people." She watched him intently, trying to understand what was wrong. His eyes kept flicking back to Rev. He whispered something. Trance only understood one word but it was enough. Magog.

She smiled again. The crew had realised something was going on but Trance had gestured for them to wait. 

"That's just Rev Bem. He is a Magog yes, but he's a Wayist. He's a good Magog."

Harper's views on 'good' Magog were like he's views on 'nice' Nietzcheans. There weren't any, they were all scary monsters. And Harper knew all about monsters. 

"Do you want him to leave?" The purple girl, Trance, wasn't smiling now, she looked concerned. Harper was too scared to understand what the rest of the people in the room were saying so he didn't bother listening to Trance as she spoke to them. He just kept his eyes focused on the Magog, watching for any movement.

"He's just scared of Rev because he's a Magog. I tried telling him he was a Wayist but he didn't seem to understand." She looked apologetically at Rev. He nodded. 

"I will leave and let you calm him down. He is not the first nor will he be the last to be afraid of me." He turned and left. 

Harper slid down to the floor his back against the wall. He was drained, exhausted. He hadn't ate in a long time, he hadn't slept much and he'd used up all his energy through adrenaline. He closed his eyes and let himself drift into the darkness. 

Trance knelt down beside him. "He's unconscious."

Dylan was standing next to her, looking both confused and concerned. 

"Take him to the med-bay and keep him there for the moment. I wonder why he had such a strong reaction to seeing Rev Bem?"

Tyr, who had kept to the sidelines during this incident voiced his opinion. 

"It would seem he has had some experience with Magog before."

Dylan nodded. "But so have I and I don't react like that whenever I see a Magog."

Tyr was not ready to concede his point though and continued. "You however, were a highguard officer well able to defend yourself, I doubt he was in the same position."

Beka said nothing. She was staring down at the limp form Trance was tending to. She'd seen the fear in his eyes and something was starting to click. The staring at the floor, the walking behind her, the generally nervous behaviour. 

She could have kicked herself. She'd seen kids like these before, they'd been through hell most of their life and they always seemed to get the worst of it. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before now. The Nietzcheans were probably slavers and that meant this Harper guy was a slave.

Tyr and Dylan were helping Trance move him onto a stretcher to take him to the Med-bay. Dylan looked worried and perplexed, like he'd taken on too much and wasn't sure just what to do. She understood exactly how he felt. 

And Harper, he was having nightmares. Magog, Nietzcheans, everything he'd ever dreamed was under his blanket. But for the first time since the death of his parents he was rescued from these monsters, not by his parents like he used to be, but by a purple goddess who kept telling him that everything would be okay. And he believed her.

Trance was sitting by his beside whispering to the young man on the bed. Telling him how everything was going to be good now and he was among friends. She was just waiting now, for him to wake up, for things to go right or wrong and to understand what it was really all about, this universe with it's cruelty and kindness. That it could do something so horrible to someone like this.

*** 

A/N: Oh, poor Harper! Well, what did you think? I haven't really planned how long this story is going to be but there isn't signs of it ending just yet, as for Harper's sleeping habits, we'll get back to them next chapter. 


	7. Learning

Disclaimer: See Chapter One

I'm so sorry that it took me so long to post this chapter. I was preoccupied being ill and stuff. Anyway, all the lovely reviews!! Thank you, they really do make me happy with the story and all. I always have so much fun thinking up a quote to go with each chapter! Anyways, here is chapter seven: 

***

"People don't believe in heroes anymore. No-one expects to be saved from evil. But it seems only fair that if there are still dragons in this world, there should still be heroes left to fight them"

***

Harper woke up slowly, his mind wandering, just listening to the sounds around him. Then he remembered some of what had been happening the last few days. He sat up, suddenly fully awake. Beka and Dylan were at either side of his bed. 

He didn't know where he was or what was going on. Then he realised that he'd fallen unconscious. Damn, he was in for it now. He was supposed to be working here and these people were gonna be pretty mad that he'd been sleeping instead of working.

His eyes darted from one to the other. He wasn't sure what was going to happen. It was the uncertainty that scared him the most. Not knowing what to expect. You'd think by now he had grown used to the unexpected but how can you get used to something that is always different? 

Hunt spoke, from Harper's left. Harper had switched his gaze to his hands and was trying to resist the urge to look up. 

"How are you feeling?" Harper barely registered the words, his terror was building. A long silence followed Dylan's question and he exchanged a glance with Captain Valentine wondering why the young man hadn't answered him. 

He reached out to place his hand on the young man's shoulder but Harper jerked away, almost instinctively. He spoke then, quietly, almost desperately.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry...I didn't mean to collapse, it won't happen again......"

Beka decided it was time for her to step in. Dylan was kind of at a loss here. He wasn't used to this kind of stuff, darkness, deprivation, slavery. To him it was something of the past and he had never imagined that it would be something of the future.

"Listen to me. It's alright. No-one is going to hurt you. It doesn't matter that you collapsed earlier. If you are worried that you missed your shift, don't worry about it you can make it up later. That's not important now. First we need to ask you some questions okay?"

Beka's voice was commanding. She was very clear making sure Harper heard every word. And when she asked her last question she waited for an answer. Her reply was a barely perceptible nod. Good, he had understood her.

She looked to Dylan seeing if he wanted to take it from here. He shook his head slightly, motioning for her to continue. 

"Okay, first question. What colour are my eyes?" Harper was now very confused. What kind of a question was that? How was he supposed to know? 

"Well?" "I don't know Ma'am, I'm sorry."

Beka frowned. He wasn't catching on. She'd have to keep trying.

"Why don't you look and tell me what colour my eyes are?" This was greeted with some hesitation from Harper. He was sure it was some trick to try and catch him unawares. Finally he gave in and looked up, quickly, and then down again.

"Blue, Ma'am, your eyes are blue." 

"What about Captain Hunt's eyes?" He looked quickly at Captain Hunt and reported back.

"His eyes are blue as well, Ma'am." Beka almost sighed with exasperation, he really wasn't getting this. Then she had a very good idea. 

"Harper, what colour is my hair?" He did the same as before and told her her hair colour. She repeated the question for Captain Hunt and got another answer. Dylan realised what she was trying to accomplish but he wasn't sure how she planned on doing it. 

"Harper what colour is my hair now?" He looked up, frowned and stared, forgetting to look back down. 

"My hair changes a lot Harper. It changes to any colour I want. So maybe it would be easier if your kept your head up so you'll know if my hair changes colour. It might also help you avoid bumping into things, or tripping over things. We wouldn't want you to knock yourself unconscious again would we?"

He shook his head and looked back down, then realising his mistake, looked up again. Beka's hair was now green. She resembled Harper's idea of a witch. Harper was busy contemplating that thought when her hair resumed it's first colour.

"So Harper, do you want something to eat? Trance is bringing you something from the mess."

Trance? Who was Trance again. Oh yeah, the purple girl who had helped him. He wondered if she changed colour too. He'd have to keep his head up just to make sure. 

Beka decided to continue the questioning.

"So Harper, where are you from?"

She and Dylan spent the next hour asking Harper questions. They found out a bit about him. Firstly, he was from Earth. She had guessed as much. Secondly, he was older than he looked, but not by much. Thirdly, he really was an mechanic and had been working for the Dragans for a while.

Then Beka told him who they were. She told him about her crew and about Dale. She learned that he and Harper had been friends for a while too. Then Dylan told Harper a little about the Commonwealth. While he was telling him, Harper started smiling.

"You've heard of the Commonwealth before?"

Harper nodded. "Yes sir, they were the heroes who fought the Dragans but the Dragans were more powerful and they won. Then the heroes went away."

Dylan smiled a little sadly at Harper's tale. "They're not gone Harper, it may seem like they are but they are just out there waiting for the right time to come back and win the fight."

Trance walked in the door at that moment and almost dropped the tray she was holding as the ship rocked suddenly. She steadied herself. Andromeda's voice was heard over the comms.

"We're under attack by an unidentified ship. All crew members to the bridge."

Dylan and Beka took off leaving Trance with an unperturbed Harper. He was used to attacks and alarms. Like background noise. He was sitting on the side of the bed and she set the food down beside him. 

"Eat up!" There was some kind of soup and bread. Though Harper was really hungry he forced himself to eat slowly. Trance busied herself with other things. From time to time the ship rocked with explosions. After he eat Harper fell asleep again. The battle continued. 

***

He woke to the sound of silence. Trance was sitting on a chair next to his bed, reading. She smiled when she saw he was awake. The door opened and she turned to see who it was.

Dylan and Beka walked back in, talking to each other. Or more correctly arguing with each other.

"Dylan we can't stay in this sun. Pretty soon the Andromeda won't be able to protect us from the suns radiation and we'll probably begin to resemble a magog barbecue!"

They had stopped just inside the door. Trance noticed that Harper was very alert and wary. Maybe it was the fact that Beka was practically shouting at Dylan. 

"Listen, I have a plan. Just give me some time and I'll let you know what we're going to do."

Beka muttered something, turned and walked out the door. 

Dylan turned his attention back to Trance and Harper. He quickly explained the situation to Trance who did not look too happy at the thought of the Andromeda basking in the sun.

Then he spoke to Harper, who was still very confused about exactly what was going on here. He wasn't ready to believe that this was a safe and happy haven he had wandered into, especially not the way Hunt and Captain Valentine had just been arguing. 

"Harper, you are a mechanic right?" At Harper nod, he continued. "Well, how are you at building?" Trance who had gone to run some environmental scans of the radiation levels looked over at them, curious as to what was happening. 

Dylan handed Harper the flexi in his hand. "Do you think you could build this?"

Harper examined the flexi carefully. Mechanics and engineering, it was all second nature to him. He had all the information he needed, the Nietzcheans had supplied him with various programs to run through his port.

"Yes, sir, I think I can make this. But I'll need materials and tool...."

Dylan smiled and Harper felt encouraged by this. It was a friendly warm smile, not like the smirks and grins that Granzen was always giving him. 

"That's no problem, Trance will help you find everything you need and if you need any assistance Andromeda will be happy to provide it."

Dylan gave some orders to Trance and left for command. Leaving a confused Harper and a cheerful Trance. Trance knew that Dylan was being careful to make sure that Harper didn't come into close contact with Tyr and Rev any time soon. He obviously was not ready for that.

Trance knew that Harper had been treated very badly before. The scans she had run while he was unconscious showed malnutrition, bruises, cuts, evidence of many old injuries. And mentally he was almost in the same state, though his fear had lessened slightly from when he had first met her.

With the project Dylan had given him though, he seemed almost excited but also cautious and wary. Probably afraid that he might do something wrong. But he needn't worry, Trance knew that he was capable of doing much better than just putting pieces together, he could be a real creative genius if he had the chance. 

The big picture, it didn't look so bright as she'd expected. Things were still a little off, their calculations were still wrong. She was hoping the problem would right itself but things sometimes even natural things didn't fix right. 

Sometimes the universe made mistakes, like having lots of dragons but forgetting about the heroes. The universe tried to fix that though because it brought Dylan. But one man by himself, even a hero, wasn't enough. 

She knew that the one big thing was coming soon, the big fork in the road. Either Dylan would go alone or they'd go with him. Dylan might have been a hero, but everyone know that heroes need friends. 

***

Can you guess which episode this is? Reviews are always appreciated! 


	8. Changing

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

I love all the reviews thank you, sorry for the delay but I've this thing with too much work and too little time. Mid-term next week though! Here is chapter 8: 

"You can only realise the value of something when you don't have it. Friendship, time, love. These all apply. To know the value of friendship ask the person who is alone. To know the value of time ask someone who is dying. To know the value of love ask someone who know what it's like to hate. To know the value of hope ask someone who doesn't have any" 

Harper had been working for hours. Trance wasn't much help so she just stood by and watched. He was very good at what he did, even though she really had no idea what he was doing. 

It took her an hour to convince him to have a break. He just refused saying that Dylan had told him to get this done and he'd do it. Of course Trance didn't know that he had been used to working a lot longer than eight hours. He barely took ten minutes of a break and he had a glass of water and a piece of fruit, at Trance request.

He didn't know what the fruit was either. It was strange to think he'd actually never eaten or seen pineapple. He'd heard about it but he just thought it was an apple that tasted a bit like a pine tree. And Trance could almost understand how that made sense, to Harper at least.

He'd gone back to work and the thing, whatever it was was beginning to take shape. He was running a few diagnostic programs checking for problems, stress areas and other faults that would stop it from working. Trance was monitoring the environmental systems and the radiation levels. They were getting quite high.

That was when Tyr walked in. Harper jumped to his feet the moment he walked into the room. From her console Trance could see that Harper was almost shaking with fear. Tyr paused inside the door and looked from Harper to Trance and back to Harper.

Harper was trying to think of somewhere to run to, anywhere but here. He didn't know any kind Nietzcheans and so he presumed there were none and that this one was no exception to the rule.

Tyr had paused inside the door. Captain Hunt had requested that he stay away from their new engineer and Tyr now understood why. He was very frightened, like a frightened rabbit that instead of doing the smart thing and running away, just froze where they were and hoped they wouldn't be seen.

He should probably leave before the situation worsened but first he needed to talk to Trance. 

"The radiation levels, how high are they?"

Trance was still trying to sort out the situation. Harper was standing very still staring at the floor. She checked her readings and told Tyr the level of radiation. 

"Refresh my memory if you will, what is the recommended level of radiation that is tolerable for a considerable period of time?"

Trance checked her console again and gave him a figure much lower than the second.

Tyr mused for a moment. Captain Hunt seemed to have a dearth wish, they couldn't stay for much longer in these levels of radiation or the effects would be irreversible.

"You, boy. Whatever it is you are doing I'm sure is relevant to the current situation. I believe it would be beneficial to everyone concerned if you continued working. And since you seem unable to work while in my presence, I will leave."

Tyr strode purposely out the door meaning to have a few word with Captain Hunt. The man was insane if he thought Tyr Anasazi was going to sit around in a sun waiting for radiation to slowly disintegrate his DNA. If necessary Tyr would take matters into his own hands.

***

Both Harper and Trance breathed silent sighs of relief as Tyr left. Trance because the Nietzchean looked angry and Harper because Tyr was a big, scary, evil Nietzchean.

An hour later Harper tried to get Trance's attention.

"Uh..... Ms.Trance, ma'am?"

Trance looked up from where she was worriedly monitoring the console. 

"Oh, no, just Trance, not ms. or ma'am. Was there something you wanted?"

Harper hesitated looking at the thing he'd been making and then back to Trance. 

"I think I'm done."

Trance looked at him questioningly. "You're finished?"

He shifted slightly. "I think so."

Trance raised her eyebrows at this, either he was finished or he wasn't. Obviously Harper understood the expression because he continued. "I did everything it said to do in that and all the parts and right and I've run all the tests but..... I'm not certain that it works."

Trance understood. He was afraid he'd gotten it wrong. He'd checked and double checked but there really was no way to be sure. 

She understood what it felt like to be insecure, to be so uncertain that what you were doing and had done was right. She sometimes felt like that and she knew what Atlas felt like holding the weight of a world on his shoulders. Even gods had great burdens, even heroes got it wrong.

She was about to reassure Harper when he collapsed for the second time. Only this time it wasn't from fear. 

***

"Is he going to be alright?" Beka, Dylan and Trance were standing by Harper's bedside. He was very pale and very still. 

"That depends." Trance paused. Dylan looked at her his expression voicing his 'on what?'. Faces said a lot more than words ever could or would. 

"On whether we get out proximity to this sun soon or not. His immune system is a lot less developed than most humans, I guess growing up on earth had that affect. He can't tolerate the radiation."

Tyr was leaning against the door and Rev was standing away from the bed. There wasn't much chance of Harper waking up but they didn't really want to take that chance. 

"Look Captain Hunt, I'm not sure exactly what your plan is but unless you can cause miracles I think I've a better way out of this." 

Beka was angry, tired and fed up with this mans way of doing things. She knew they needed to take action now. Captain Hunt simply waited for her to continue.

"I'm taking the Maru and anyone who wants to come with me and we are getting out of here."

"And why do you think you have less chance of getting killed than the Andromeda leaving." Hunt crossed his arms and stared at her. He couldn't really understand her reasoning. 

"Because my ship is not the Andromeda."

The next twenty minutes was a full blown argument between Beka and Hunt. It ended with Beka agreeing that they should put the thing Harper had made into one of the small transport ships. Hunt had revealed it to be a footprint magnification system after Beka accused him of keeping information from the crew. 

Beka was going to take Tyr and Rev with her in the Maru because they weren't sure it was going to work and they believed being in the Maru gave them a better chance to survive. Trance refused to go with Beka on the principal that because Hunt refused to let them take Harper, her patient needed her. Beka said it was her own choice.

It worked, just about. The two ships survived the Andromeda in worse shape overall. It was what happened afterwards that was surprising though. When Dylan informed the Maru that they could dock, Beka announced she had other ideas. She, Rev and Tyr were not willing to be part of his commonwealth anymore and were going their own ways.

And that was it. No talking about it, no goodbyes. Beka cut the link and the Maru headed for the nearest slipstream exit. Dylan just stood for a moment shocked. He wasn't expecting that.

He had come to realise in the last few days that he needed this crew, even though they were unconventional and not really commonwealth material, he needed them. And now most of them were gone. He hit the console in frustration. He was back to square one, alone again or almost. 

***

This was bad very bad. All the hints of a good future disappeared the moment Beka left. How had she let this happen? How had she made such a huge mistake? And how was she going to fix it? 

The future looked as bad as she'd ever seen it. It was without hope now just like the people on this ship were. A displaced Captain, who's whole universe had been turned upside down, a terrified human ex-slave who didn't know the meaning of kindness and her, a person who'd made a stupid mistake and she didn't even know exactly what it was.

And in the med-bay, next to a still unconscious Harper, sat a purple girl crying like the universe was dying. And maybe it was. 

*** 

Reviews much appreciated! 


	9. Wishes and Hopes

Disclaimer and stuff: Still in the first chapter where I left it!

To make up for the lateness of this update it's extra-long or at least longer than the last chapter! The next chapter will be up before Saturday, if things go as planned. Again thank you for the really great reviews!!Danke schon! Go raibh mile maith agat! Anyway, here is chapter 9, enjoy! 

"There is a difference between an idle wish and a true wish. An idle wish is when you're young and naive and you want a pony or a koala bear as a pet. A true wish is you want something to happen because you need it to. Like you need someone to live and not die or you need to find someone who is lost because they are alone and scared and you wish they were safe in your arms. " 

***

Harper woke to the sound of Trance's sobs. They were the kind of sobs that tore at your heart, desolate, hopeless. Harper didn't know what to do. Trance was sitting by his bedside, her head in her hands. He tentatively reached over and touched her shoulder. 

Trance's crying paused slightly and continued. Harper held her shoulder and tried to think about what to do next. 

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad, I'm sure you can fix it. I can help if you like." 

Trance looked up at him for a second. Her sobs died down slightly. She was still crying, it no longer tore at his heart but left it bruised and aching.

***

One week later..

Dylan walked into the mess, contemplating the most interesting question of the day; what to have for dinner. He was surprised to find Harper there, Dylan usually tried to eat when no-one else was in the mess, that was so he didn't have to try and force conversation. 

Well there was no getting out of it now and he was hungry anyway. Harper had noticed him walk in because he was sitting on the side of the table facing the door. He watched Dylan as he went and chose his meal. It was a type of stew that his mother used to make when he was younger.

He sat down next to Harper and noticed the young man tense beside him. Dylan hadn't seen much of him in the last week. Trance had kept him in the medbay for a few days and then he'd been making repairs for the rest of the week. 

They had seen and heard nothing of the Eureka Maru and her crew. He presumed that Captain Valentine had returned to her salvaging business along with Rev. Bem and possibly Anasazi had gone with them. They didn't matter anymore, they had chosen to leave. 

He began eating his dinner and noticed that Harper hadn't touched his since Dylan sat down, maybe since he came into the room. Harper reminded him of the new cadets. They were always so nervous around their Captain. But the one big difference was that they were nervous because they respected him as a high-ranking officer and Harper was scared because he was afraid that Dylan would hurt him. 

Beka would probably have a better idea of what to do, she'd seen this kind of thing before but she wasn't here now. Dylan decided he'd have to at least try to do something. 

"How are the repairs going Harper?"

The young man froze when Dylan spoke, he obviously hadn't been expecting a conversation. Or maybe he was scared he'd done something wrong, even though Dylan had tried to keep his tone friendly. Maybe Harper translated friendly as angry. 

"The repairs are going fine sir, I'll have them finished in an hour."

With that Harper stood up with his almost full plate. Dylan grabbed his arm. "Wait, Harper.." And Harper tried to jerk away from him knocking his plate over and onto the floor.

He turned back to Dylan his expression one of terror. Then jumped to the floor and started cleaning up apologising as he did. "Sorry sir, I didn't mean to drop it, I'll clean it up, I'm really sorry...."

Dylan moved Harper's chair back and put his hand on Harper shoulder. This time Harper froze and didn't pull away. 

"Sit down Mr. Harper." Dylan used his commanding tone of voice. The one that said 'do what I tell you, now'

Harper obediently stood up and moved to the chair Dylan pointed out on the other side of the table and sat down. He was shaking with fear and he watched Dylan with frightened eyes.

Dylan picked up the plate and food and placed it in the recycler. He went to the dispenser and got another plate of what Harper had been eating and bringing it and clean cutlery, set it in front of him. He then returned to his place and sat down to eat his meal.

Harper stared at Dylan, confused. Wasn't he mad? About the repairs and the food? Didn't he want Harper to get back to work? 

Dylan looked up from his meal at the still unmoving Harper and sighed. 

"You can't digest the food until you put it in your mouth. The repairs can wait until tomorrow. You and I have something else to do, eat up."

Harper hesitantly picked up his fork and seeing Dylan's encouraging nod, began to eat his meal. Dylan smiled, one battle down, one more to go. 

***

An hour after dinner, Dylan had asked Harper to meet him in hydroponics. Harper was there early and was admiring the plants when Dylan arrived.

Harper jumped back as Dylan tossed the basketball to him. He watched it bounce in front of him like it was a bomb waiting to blow. Dylan asked him to throw it back. Harper gingerly caught it, held it in his hands for about two seconds and tossed it vaguely in Dylan's direction. 

For the next half-hour Dylan proceeded to explain the rules of the game to Harper and they did a little practice throwing and catching. Dylan left Harper practising his bouncing and went to talk to Trance who had come in to look after the plants.

"He seems to be having fun." It was true, Dylan realised, Harper did have a smile on his face as he tried to bounce the ball. He'd been very nervous at the beginning, afraid to touch the ball and he almost lost it when Dylan touched his arm to try and show him how to hold it when he was passing and shooting. But he seemed to be having fun with the ball. 

Then he did something silly. He bounced the ball and took his attention off it to watch Dylan and Trance. It hit him full force in the face and knocked him off balance.

"Damn.." Harper put his hands to his face as it throbbed with pain. Trance was about to go over but Dylan stopped her and went himself. 

"Harper, let me see your face." He hesitated but took his hands away as Dylan tilted his chin up. Dylan ignored the way Harper flinched when Dylan touched him and carefully looked for injuries. There was nothing serious but he'd probably have a bruise on the left side of his face, it must have taken the impact. 

"Nothing serious." Harper was watching Dylan with that nervous hawk look again but Dylan smiled at him and continued. "First rule of Basketball: Never take your eyes off the ball." 

Dylan and Trance were pleased to see Harper give them a small grin, then he left to fetch the basketball and undeterred, kept practising, being careful to keep his eyes on the ball. 

Trance felt that something was going right after all. Maybe if she could just fix the little things, the big things would somehow sort themselves out. It was wishful thinking but sometimes all you had to rely on were wishes and hopes.

***

It had been a week since Beka, Rev and Tyr had parted from the Andromeda. Beka was beginning to think she had made a mistake in letting Trance stay. She had lost her good luck charm. 

They had arrived on Etoile, a backwater drift, about eight hours ago. She was looking for a salvage run or cargo run, or anything. She was fairly desperate. Tyr had left them as soon as they'd docked and Rev was staying on the Maru. He never really got a good welcome in places like these.

She had just been refused for the fourth time for carrying cargo on account of the fact that she wasn't well known in the area. She had also had quite a few offers for sex, so her hand was now permanently on her weapon. You can't be too careful in places like these.

She was heading dejectedly back to the Maru when she got the feeling someone was following her. She didn't change her pace or look around but kept walking as if nothing was wrong and she was sure of where she was going. Only she wasn't. Was it left or right at this junction? 

She didn't know but she chose left without a pause hoping it would deter whoever it was. No such look. She had just turned into a now closed shopping area. She turned to face her stalker and found there were now two of them. Three if you counted the one coming up behind them. And they were Nietzchean. This was not good.

Her weapon was already in her hand but would be little use to her against three of them. The first one seemed to be more interested in hand to hand though and moved closer. Before she had a chance to fire he hit her with something and it shocked her unconscious. 

***

She woke up slowly, trying to gather her wits. What the hell?! She was sitting in a chair with her hands tied uncomfortably behind her. She tried pulling at her bonds but they were tight, there was little chance she'd be able to break out of them. 

"Ms. Valentine, how lovely to see you again." The voice came from behind her. It was unmistakable. The person moved to stand in front of her and Beka found herself once again looking at Gerentex's ugly face.

"You bastard! You gave Dale to the Nietzcheans!."

He smiled condescendingly at her. "I'd expect better language from you Ms. Valentine, and in truth it was you who betrayed me and not the other way around. If you want your freedom I'd suggest you co-operate and answer my friends questions. If not, things could get a little..unpleasant."

From behind her another figure appeared. A male, Nietzchean, one of the three who'd been following her. The one who'd shocked her unconscious, in fact. It was then she realised that she was in deep trouble.

"Where are they?"

Beka blinked, what kind of a question was that?

"Who?" The Nietzcheans fist smashed into her face. 

"I'll ask you again, where are they, where is the Andromeda?"

The whole of the left side of Beka's face had exploded in pain. 'Ah, that 'they''. 

"I don't know."

"Wrong answer." The Nietzchean grinned and it made Beka feel ill. They weren't known for their nice treatment of prisoners or their soft interrogations. His fist smashed into her ribs, she cried out and bent over as far as her bonds would allow, trying to squeeze out the pain.

She didn't know what to do now. She knew what they wanted and that they would not stop until they had gotten it, but the problem was that she really, truthfully and truly did not know the answer. 

She wondered how long until they gave up or she fell unconscious. She understood now why Harper disliked the Nietzcheans so much. They knew exactly how powerful they were over you and their confidence in their superiority never wavered.

***

Tyr stepped back on board the Maru. He had been busy trying to find a way off this drift when he'd overheard about a blond woman getting kidnapped by some Nietzcheans. It didn't take much to figure out who it was.

It wasn't his responsibility, he owed the woman nothing and it was nothing to do with him yet he still felt he had to help her. If only because she had offered to let him leave the Andromeda with her.

So he'd located the Nietzchean ship where he supposed she'd been taken but luck was apparently not on their side as it was in the process of undocking and leaving when he found it. That was why he was back here. 

"Beka, is that you?" The Magog's voice came from the other side of the ship. 

"No, it is Tyr Anasazi."

A minute later Rev. appeared in the airlock where Tyr was waiting. 

"For what do we have the honour of your return Mr. Anasazi?"

Tyr tried to suppress the urge to growl at the Magog.

"I believe your Captain has been taken captive by the same Nietzcheans who tried to steal Captain Hunts ship. They have just left the station but if we leave now we may be able to follow them."

Rev looked anxious and confused. "Why would they have taken Beka?"

"Presumably because they believe that she knows the location of the Andromeda and they still want to acquire the ship. I wouldn't be surprised if Gerentex is still working with them."

Rev hesitated for a minute as he worked out in his head whether to trust Tyr. True Beka was late and not answering her comms but that could be because of Tyr for all he knew. And why would Tyr be helping him anyway? He was Nietzchean and owed them no debt he could think of. 

However he pushed his doubts away and put his trust in the Way. His instinct told him to trust Tyr and he did just that.

As Rev guided them out of the station Tyr began trying to locate the Nietzchean ship. It wasn't hard to pick up the trail. He hesitated however, this was not likely to be a very successful mission, it would be safer and wiser to cut his losses, kill the Magog and take this ship for himself. But he had a better idea.

"If we are really going to take on these Nietzcheans we are going to need some help, however I believe that that would be playing right into their hands so we must tread carefully or we will end up fulfilling their wishes and not ours."

Rev nodded. "May the divine guide us, help us and protect us and the ones we care about."

***

As few days later..

Harper hesitated before walking on to command. He'd never been there before. But he needed to talk to Dylan and Dylan was there. He was studying a console when Harper walked in. 

Harper politely waited for Dylan to notice his presence. He nervously glanced at the flexi in his hands. Dylan looked up and saw Harper standing there. He smiled. So Harper had finally gotten up the courage to come to command. 

"What can I do for you Harper?"

The young man handed him the flexi and on reflex took a step back from Dylan as he read it. Dylan's expression turned from puzzled to amused to something that Harper couldn't read. 

Harper nervously shifted beside him. Dylan handed it back to him with a smile and a nod. Harper broke into a small smile too and headed out the door. Dylan shook his head, 'where did he find that?'

***

Beka was so tired. And scared. And hurt. They wouldn't accept her answers no matter how many times she told them that she didn't know. She hoped Rev was okay. She wished they leave her alone. She didn't know where the Andromeda was and no amount of pain was going to help her discover the answer.

She had lied to them, told them the first place that came to her and now they were heading there. What would happen when they realised she'd been lying. She was just a captain of a courier ship, how had she gotten into this mess? She knew no-one was coming to save her, she was all on her own and it truth it was a very cold universe to be alone in.

***

A/N: So, a couple of surprises coming up next chapter. Which I aim to write soon. Reviews are very appreciated! 


	10. Gain and Loss

Disclaimer and stuff: See first chapter or failing that, take an educated guess.

My brilliant plan failed miserably. Not only did I not get my chapter up but I also didn't manage to take over the world. I can't believe I have so many reviews! You are all so great reviewers and I am really happy about the response to this story! Anyway, here is chapter 10....

"That's the thing about equations. You find x, add it in and you solve your equation and everything works out okay. But sometimes it happens that you end up taking away the value of x and suddenly your equation looks very much like it did at the start. When faced with algebra you long for the days of one plus one equalling two. Most people want life to be simple, but in reality, it's not." 

Dylan was surprised when the communication came in from the Maru. Probably to ask Trance to join them now that Harper was okay, or maybe to ask both of them to leave. This worried Dylan, he really didn't want to lose those two as they had become part of his crew now.

So when he heard Tyr and Rev's story of Beka abduction he was surprised and more worried still. He needed a plan, a very good plan at that if they were to get Beka back. He held a brief meeting with Trance and Harper.

"So now we have to come up with a plan to rescue Beka without losing the Andromeda or getting anyone killed. Unfortunately we don't really have enough man power, Tyr and myself are really the only people who can actually board the Nietzchean ship."

Harper spoke up nervously. "Actually boss, I think I have an idea about that."

Harper knew what kind of defences the Neitzcheans had and he knew what it would take to penetrate them. It was becoming more and more apparent as Harper came out of his shell that he was a bright and intuitive individual with a head for problems.

Both Trance and Dylan had noticed the change in him, however slow, in the last few days. He no longer feared being hurt at every opportunity and he spoke up a bit more when his opinion differed. He still had a long way to go but Trance felt they were getting there. 

Of course Trance had a vested interest in getting Harper wherever 'there' was. And hopefully everyone else with it. She just fervently hoped that Beka was still okay and they'd be able to bring her back safely. Her intuition wasn't always clear but she had a bad feeling about this.

***

Beka had been sitting in this cell for days. She wondered how long it would take her to die of starvation or dehydration. Or hell, she was even dying slowly from persistent blood loss on a lot of her injuries.

A slow death and no way to hurry it. She reflected on all her failures because that was all she had to do, reflect. She knew there was no hope, no hero coming to save her 'cos there weren't heroes anymore. She used to think her Dad was a hero.

She hadn't been able to help or save him either. Not her dad, not Dale, hell she couldn't keep her brother on the straight and narrow and she certainly didn't seem to be doing a good job at looking after herself.

She had abandoned a member of her crew on the Andromeda, and left that kid there too. She had made a small connection with him and then she'd just upped and left. She was sure that had really helped his confidence in trusting people.

The Nietzcheans hadn't been too happy when she'd given them those false co-ordinates for the Andromeda. Eventually she'd given in and told them the last know co-ordinates. Another failure. But chances are they weren't still there and the trail was very, very cold. 

There was nothing more she could give them. She knew nothing else. Well she knew a lot of crap but she didn't really think they wanted to know where they could buy flash or illegal weapons but it gave her something to say at least. 

She hated this, the uncertainty of life, living and working for your existence every single moment of every day. In the end there didn't seem to be a point to life, not really. You lived, you died and in between you screwed up. That was the truth, the cold, harsh truth and no way to deny it.

She was sure the universe was having a good laugh right about now.

***

Dylan had a plan. It wasn't a great plan and maybe it didn't live up to his special forces training but it was a plan. 

"Okay, here's the plan people. Trance will hold fort here, keeping the Andromeda out of sight. Harper and I will join you and Rev on the Maru and we'll go after the Nietzchean ship. We'll convince them to let us dock - Rev can offer information on the Andromeda's whereabouts in exchange for Beka and while Rev is negotiating you and I will be rescuing Beka. Harper will stay out of sight on the Maru. Any Questions?... Good."

The people filed out of the briefing room, Dylan stopped Harper and asked him something and Harper nodded in agreement. His part of the plan would give them an advantage, that is, if it worked.

Three hours later and they had set off. Trance wasn't too happy about being left behind and had made Dylan promise to be careful, to rescue Beka and to look after Harper. 

And Harper, well Harper wasn't doing too good. He was now in close proximity to a Nietzchean and a magog. It was only Dylan's presence that kept him from screaming and collapsing in terror. And the fact that they were both keeping their distance.

Besides he had work to do or they'd never rescue the funny hair colour lady. He hoped she was okay cos he knew what the Nietzcheans could do, especially to a pretty woman like her.

***

Just before they came into range of the Nietzchean ship (that they'd luckily managed to track down again) Dylan revealed his secret weapon. Or more correctly Harper's secret weapon. Which to be perfectly honest wasn't a weapon at all. 

He'd found some specs on a flexi when he'd been searching through a bunch of stuff they'd taken from an old commonwealth station. He'd asked Dylan permission to build what they suggested and he'd agreed. Harper had had a lot of fun with this project and it took a lot of skill.

It was actually a her. And she was an android. 'The ship made flesh' as the flexi had referred to it. And she did look like Andromeda AI. Identical to her and even wearing the standard highguard uniform that Dylan had remembered to bring along for her. 

When she walked into the cockpit where Dylan, Rev and Tyr were, there was complete silence. She marched straight over to Captain Hunt. "I am ready to follow your orders Captain Hunt.'

Dylan wasn't really sure what to say being suddenly faced with an almost live version of his ship. "Uh...very good. Has Harper briefed you on the mission?"

"He has."

Just then Harper appeared in the doorway. He was reluctant to come in. "Rommie is finished and ready to go, sir"

Dylan looked at him questioningly. "Rommie?" 

Harper studied the floor in fascination. "I, uh, thought we could call her that to distinguish from the one on the ships computer..maybe."

Dylan smiled. "Not a bad idea Harper. What do you think Andromeda?" 

The android looked momentarily puzzled. "I think it sounds fine, sir."

"Rommie it is then." 

He looked towards Tyr and Rev who had regained some of they're composure. "Are we ready?" The both nodded. 

***

They gave Rev some time to negotiate with the Nietzcheans before they left the Maru. They all carried force lances. The plan was for Rev to eventually agree to give the co-ordinates of the Andromeda in exchange for Beka's release. They didn't expect the Nietzcheans to live up to their part of the bargain though.

They set off, leaving Harper behind on the Maru. Tyr managed to determine Beka's location so it was just a matter of getting there without being scene or incapacitating anyone who did see them. Easier said than done.

Rommie was a very valuable asset. She was able to detect Nietzcheans corridors away and so they were prepared and never surprised. She was also a very skilled fighter. They moved as fast as possible knowing they didn't have much time. Rev would be returning to the ship soon too.

Eventually they reached the cells. Beka's was the only occupied. As they got there a Nietzchean had just entered Beka's cell. Dylan and Rommie stood guard outside while Tyr went in. The fact that Tyr was Nietzchean might confuse the guard and buy Tyr some time.

The door opened and Tyr with his weapon out strode in. Just in time it seemed. The Nietzchean had Beka on the floor and was pinning her hands above her head. She was struggling weakly and it was clear what his intentions were. Tyr pulled him to his feet and slammed him against the wall. 

Dylan rushed in and helped Beka to her feet. She pulled away first, afraid and not knowing who he was. But he spoke to her, calm and assuringly and got her outside. 

Dylan had to almost tear Tyr away from the Nietzchean that he was busy attacking. 

They rushed back to the Maru, Dylan and Tyr were supporting Beka and Rommie was leading. Alarms started sounding, blaring everywhere. They had to shoot their way out, literally. But they managed. 

They stumbled into the Maru, shutting the airlock quickly, Rev had arrived back just behind them and got in before it closed.

Tyr ran to the cockpit and undocked. They were going to have some fun trying to leave without getting blown up. But Harper had given them a handy little gadget to attach to the ships systems that temporarily put the weapons and propulsion systems offline. He flew to the nearest slipstream point and they escaped.

Beka was lying in what was supposed to be the Maru medbay. She would be okay or so Rommie's inbuilt medical scanner said.

Dylan went to the cockpit to see Tyr and Harper. He wanted to congratulate everyone on the successful mission. He walked in and immediately had another question. 

"Where is Harper?" Tyr looked questioningly at him and Dylan walked over to the nearest console. There were only four lifesigns on board. There should have been five. They had lost Harper.

He walked quickly back to the med-room. "Harper not here." Rommie looked up and checked her own scanner confirming what Dylan had said. Beka sat up and Rev tried to push her back down. "What do you mean he's not here?" She froze for a moment and then she looked horrified. "Are you telling me that we let those bastard get their hands on him? That we just put Harper back in hell??"

Beka looked ready to pass out. Dylan felt sick to his stomach. He went and contacted Trance. 

"We managed to rescue Beka and we were careful but...... Trance I'm sorry, they took Harper."

Trance just stared at him. He had promised. The hero and saviour of the universe had promised to keep Harper safe and not Harper was back in hell. He'd broken his promise and all Trances good futures were gone once more. They seemed to be having so many defining moments and they all seemed to be going wrong. 

Every time they gained something they lost something bigger. They gained Harper, lost Beka, Tyr and Rev. She had gained Harper's trust and now she'd lost Harper. She prayed and wished and hoped for Harper's safe return, somehow they would get him back. 

Dylan wasn't happy either. He was angry and disappointed - with himself. He had failed Harper and Trance. And where he was standing now looked very, very like square one. 

***

So.... surprised? Comments and constructive criticism is always appreciated!! 


	11. Learning to Hope

"It has been said that 'hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing and good things never die'. But that doesn't mean it can't be killed. Something immortal may live forever but if you stab it through the heart or push it off a cliff it will be just as dead as you or I. Hope is like a fire burning, it can be put out but it can also be rekindled after its been long dead. All you need is a spark and that is found in every person, everywhere so that even in the midst of despair, even on the brink of war, there is hope."

***

Harper was crouching in the corner of his cell. He'd given up hope of Dylan coming to his rescue. He'd never had hope of rescue in the first place. Other people didn't help people like him, he was just there to provide a service, whatever that happened to be.

He didn't bother looking up when the guard entered the cell. He stood up like he had always done. Hands by his side, head down. So passive, but inside he was terrified. He prayed, but what use was prayer, you could pray for peace every day and it might never happen. Not because your prayer wasn't answered but because it just wasn't the answer you wanted. There was no such thing as an unanswered prayer.

"Welcome home kludge, what is it you humans say.... the lost sheep has been returned to the flock. And the shepherd isn't going to let you wander off again."

The first punch hit him in the stomach. The second his head and after that he lost count. He heard the sickening crack of his ribs, felt the pain when his arm snapped and mercifully felt the darkness when he lost consciousness.

***

A month later....

On this backwater drift the slave trade was very prosperous. The Nietzcheans were good suppliers of slaves and both Nietzcheans and humans were good purchasers. So this particular slave trader was not surprised at the arrival of a Nietzchean into his 'office' 

"I wish to purchase a slave." He spoke directly, to the point and with an attitude of disinterest which was common in Nietzcheans. 

The trader smiled accommodatingly. "Of course, for what purpose?"

The Nietzchean replied bluntly and to the point once more.

"I need a mechanic, human, male, young- under twenty five."

The man got hurriedly to his feet. "Of course, right this way and I'll show you some suitable candidates."

***

Harper was barely able to sit up. All his energy was on staying conscious. He was supposed to be fixing this circuit but his hands were unsteady and kept slipping. Any minute now one of the overseers was going to notice his lack of progress. 

He was so absorbed he didn't even notice the door open and the trader showing the Nietzchean around. He was concentrating so hard on just fixing the circuit that everything else around him had become irrelevant, background noise. The voice beside him shook him out of his reverie and he almost dropped the circuit. 

"What about this one?"

"He's a mechanic, originally from Earth. Approximately twenty years of age. Perhaps you would care to look at one in better condition. This one is cheap but he is not expected to last very long."

The trader tried to encourage him further round the shop. The Nietzchean appeared to study him for some time. Harper tried to continue his work but his hands wouldn't do what they were told. He felt like crying in frustration. 

"I'll take him." The Nietzcheans tone was so certain, so definite that the trader didn't even try to argue. The trader named a figure slightly hire than the actual. The Nietzchean pressed a button on his wrist pad.

He turned to face the trader. "I'll said I'll **take** him. I said nothing about paying."

The trader was about to reach for his gun but a voice behind him stopped him. 

"I would not do that if I were you." The voice was gravelly and threatening.

He turned his head slightly to view the person. It took his mind a few seconds to process that there was a Magog standing in front of him. 

"Take him, whatever you want!! Just leave, please!"

The Nietzchean turned his attention to the boy, he was in a bad state and looked ready to pass out. He simply picked him up and slung him as gently as possible over his shoulder. When the body went limp he knew that he had passed out. 

He and the Magog walked out, a very strange sight to the other stationers. A Magog and a Nietzchean with a human slung over his shoulder. 

***

Tyr placed Harper's limp body on the bed. "Can we keep him sedated until he return to the Andromeda?"

Rev Bem shook his head. "I need to treaty his injuries and it would be unwise to sedate him and give him painkillers. Especially because of what Trance told us of his immune system."

"It would be better if Beka or Trance were here."

Rev nodded wisely. "But we thought there was only a small chance of him being here which is why we came and they went to conduct negotiations with the Perseids. After a month we had almost given up hope of finding Harper. But these things generally happen when one least expects it."

Tyr did not look impressed with Rev's little bit of philosophy. He looked down at Harper and back to Rev. 

"Which of us should be here when he wakes?" 

Rev seemed uncertain about that question but Tyr was not pleased that there was a limit to his apparently infinite wisdom.

"Perhaps you would be the better candidate. Harper is more familiar with Nietzcheans at least and he will not be immediately in fear of his life."

Tyr didn't like it but he saw the wisdom in that. "And perhaps", Rev continued, "When you have him calmed you could inform me and I will treat any of the slightly less serious injuries that I have not already treated."

Rev treated the serious wounds and left, leaving Tyr in the room with the unconscious Harper.

***

Harper woke slowly, groggily. He didn't remember what had happened, everything had been a blur since the Nietzcheans had recaptured him. 

He was lying on some kind of bed, there was a blanket over him. A blanket? That was strange. He hurt, all of him, but not as badly as he expected. Maybe he'd passed out from exhaustion and not a beating. He debated whether to open his eyes or not. 

"You're awake."

The statement came from somewhere beside him and he inwardly jumped. He opened his eyes immediately and was on his feet in an instant, hands by his side, eyes down.

Tyr had a problem. Well, he had quite a few problems but the most immediate one was the boy standing in front of him. 

"Sit down." He said this quietly in an even voice, hoping the young man would listen. He didn't move but stood very still.

"Did you not hear me? I asked you to sit down, you have numerous injuries and are not fit to be up." 

At the hint of impatience in the Nietzcheans voice, Harper sat down. He tried to keep himself from trembling but it didn't do any good. A glass of water was handed to him, he tried to lift it to his mouth but his hands were too shaky. A hand reached out and steadied the glass, helping him drink.

Unintentionally his eyes met the Nietzcheans. They looked familiar but he didn't know why. He took back the glass and Harper transfixed his gaze on his hands. 

"Do you remember Beka Valentine?"

Harper sighed inwardly. He'd been through this hundreds of times with the Dragans before they were satisfied that he knew nothing of value.

"Yes, sir." Harper was trying to guess the next question. 

"Good. She is a friend of mine and she asked me to collect you and bring you to her, back to the Andromeda. We're on our way now."

When he heard this Harper was surprised. He forgot to look at his hands and stared openly at the Nietzchean. He now recalled where he recognised him from. He'd been on the Andromeda. 

It was a trick. It was all just a trick. Someone trying to find out if he really knew anything about the Andromeda, trying to torture him with thoughts of safety. Well, he wasn't going to fall for it. He looked back down at his hands trying to fight the spark of hope that threatened to ignite inside him. 

Tyr reached over to Harper face to get the boy to look at him again. Harper immediately jerked away from the touch and frantically pressed himself closer to the wall. 

Tyr held both his hands out trying to show that he meant no harm. 

"I have no intention of harming you. I promised Beka that I would bring you home unharmed and I intend to do just that. She also told me to tell you that her hair is now red until you return."

At this Harper gave up fighting and began to hope. He had never told anyone about Beka's hair colour changing. So maybe, just maybe, he was telling the truth. 

"Do you remember who Rev Bem was?" Tyr continued to ask questions trying to keep the boy calm and to jog his memory of the Andromeda. People in slavery often forgot things.

"Magog.." Harper voice was barely above a whisper. He recalled what Trance had said about Rev Bem. "....and a Wayist." 

"That's right. He is a Wayist monk and a good person. We've been looking for you for the last month and we are very glad to have found you. Dylan believes that you are a very important part of his crew. He will be very glad to have you back and Trance has been very worried about you. Every time your name was mentioned her tail curled up."

Harper smiled at the image of the purple girl's tail curling. Tyr was smiling too. Harper was beginning to think that maybe he wasn't that bad for a Nietzchean. Dylan had liked him and Beka trusted him.

"Rev Bem wishes to treat the rest of your more serious injuries when you are ready."

Harper shook his head and backed away from Tyr once again. The Nietzchean was trying to be patient but his patience was wearing thin. 

"Harper, he does not mean you any harm. He is a Wayist monk and has better medical knowledge than I do. Please let him treat your injuries."

Harper nodded slightly in consent. Tyr left to find Rev and Harper sat trembling trying to keep himself calm. He was trying to change the litany in his head from Magog to Wayist. He knew the two words didn't really belong together.

The door opened. Harper tried to recall that he was supposed to breath.

"Hello Harper, how are you feeling?" Harper didn't reply he just sat still concentrating on each breath. 

"I need to treat some of your injuries. Is that alright Harper?"

He nodded slightly. He might as well get this over with. 

Rev Bem was finished after a few minutes. He hadn't expected a better reaction than what he got but he was satisfied that by the time he was finished bandaging Harper's injuries the young man had stopped flinching at every touch. Harper would eventually become accustomed to him but it would take time. 

***

"They found him, they found Harper!" Rommie announced this as her hologram appeared on the observation deck. 

Beka hugged Dylan and thanked whatever god was in their favour. Dylan smiled for the first time in a while and Trance almost jumped with joy. Harper was safe. 

They had all felt obligated to find him since they had been the ones to give him his freedom and then send him right back into hell. 

To tell the truth Trance had missed him as a friend too. He was funny, clever and kind when you got to know him and Trance had missed his company. 

They all headed down to the Docking bay to see him. Tyr was helping him out and Rev was following behind. 

Dylan put his hand on Harper's shoulder and tried not notice when Harper shied away. "It's good to have you back Harper!"

Beka greeted him next. She smiled at him and changed her hair colour back to blond. "It's nice to see you again Harper."

Rommie was standing back slightly but she was also smiling at Harper. Her creator had returned and it was a reason to be pleased. 

Trance was the last to greet him. She threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him. He was so surprised that he forgot to be afraid. "I missed you and we were all so worried. We never gave up on finding you!" 

Harper smiled slightly at this. He hadn't seen someone so delighted to see him in a long time. And he was beginning to think that having hope wasn't such a bad thing after all. 

Trance was content now. She knew there were many hurdles ahead but everything was as it should be, all the pieces were there, she just needed to make sure that the puzzle was put together properly. She knew Harper had a lot to face before he would be okay with who and what he was now. But they'd be there to help him through. 

They were all happy. Dylan had a crew, Beka had a purpose bigger than her own life, Tyr had something that he seemed okay with, Rev was helping people, Trance's future didn't look so bad anymore and Harper had his freedom. 

At times like these you understood why life was worth living, for the good times and the bad. You only appreciated the good times when you had lived through the bad. 

***

The quote in my quote the '' words come from the 'Shawshank Redemption'

A/N: This may possibly be the last full chapter. I haven't decided whether to continue this story or to end it with a small tag scene. Thanks again to anyone who has reviewed this story, it's been a great experience to write this. It may or may not be over yet but you'll know soon enough! Happy St. Patricks Day! La fheile Padraig! 


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